Past Relevant Work

When filing a claim for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits or Supplemental Security Income, the issue of past relevant work will arise. A person must show that they cannot perform their past relevant work before they can be found disabled. Please be careful when completing any paperwork regarding past relevant work because the person that initially reviews your claim will use the descriptions you provided when determining if you can perform your past relevant work. For example, a client completed paperwork stating that one of his previous jobs was secretarial, which allowed Social Security to find that he could return to his past relevant work and deny his application. After having a chance to review everything, it was determined that the job was actually an electrician’s helper and the Administrative Law Judge approved the application. This person’s benefits were tied up for almost a year because of confusion regarding his past relevant work.